I’ve asked some of the best creators on YouTube, “How do you write such great titles?”
And they’ve all said the same thing: “I just model what works.”
So this email will show you 5 videos worth modeling to help you write great titles and save time.
Btw, if you want to save more time and see all of the titles and thumbnails from Creator Hooks in one place, check out Creator Hooks Pro.
Keep It 200
Title: 200 Important English Expressions: English vocabulary lesson
Framework: 200 Important (Entities): (Keyword)
Hook score: +339
Why this works:
List – Lists make videos feel more tangible (you know exactly what the video will be about) and they add some curiosity.
Desire – This creator’s audience wants to learn English expressions and this video helps them with that.
A few weeks ago I featured a video from another language learning channel titled, “40 English Words You’ll Use Every Day”. Many lists are “10 Tips” or “5 Reasons”, but it seems like in the language learning niche the audience loves big lists. This newsletter will help you with the general psychology of what makes people click, but you also need to know the small niche-specific differences like this.
How you can use this framework: Tell your audience about a list of things they’re hoping to learn.
Examples of this framework in action:
- 200 Amazing Thumbnails: YouTube Thumbnail Inspiration
- 10 Best Seattle Neighborhoods: Moving To Seattle, Washington
Watch Out For Bananas
Title: Can I 100% Every Mario Kart Game in 1 Week?
Framework: Can I (Achieve Goal) in 1 Week?
Hook score: +691
Why this works:
Curiosity – This builds curiosity by asking a question.
Time Frame – The time frame of “in 1 Week” makes this video more tangible and adds a constraint. Both of these make this video more interesting.
“Every” – I’m surprised by how often I’ve seen the word “every” pop up in successful videos. I’m assuming it makes the video feel more epic because it adds scale. This isn’t just about a few Mario Kart games, it’s about every Mario Kart game.
This same exact format actually got this creator another 2.4 million views a few months ago. The title was, “Can I 100% Every 3D Mario Game in 1 Week?” This is a good reminder to continue doing what works.
How you can use this framework: Ask if you can achieve an insane goal in a short amount of time.
Examples of this framework in action:
- Can I Recreate The Mona Lisa in 1 Day?
- Can I Turn $1 into $10,000 in 1 Week?
Get Your Personal YouTube Coach
vidIQ just launched their AI Personal YouTube coach to help you grow your channel.
It can help you:
- Come up with video ideas
- Write better titles
- Write your video script
- Write your tags and description
- And more
If you wanna give it a try, you can get a 30-day trial for just $1 here:
(Affiliate link)
Silent But Deadly
Title: How A Silent Album Robbed Spotify Of $20,000
Framework: How A (Counterintuitive Entity) (Negative Action)
Hook score: +1269
Why this works:
Curiosity – A “Silent Album” is an oxymoron. This contrast and counterintuitiveness builds curiosity.
Negativity – Robbing Spotify of $20,000 is full of drama and people love drama.
How you can use this framework: Tell the story of how an oxymoron caused or did something bad.
Examples of this framework in action:
- How A Vegan Chicken Wing Caused Buffalo Wild Wings To Shut Down
- How A Hurricane Ruined Our Desert Camping Trip
Sew Good
Title: A sewing trick how to sew a zipper correctly without waves
Framework: A (Activity) trick how to (Achieve Goal) without (Problem)
Hook score: +3416
Why this works:
Desire – This creator’s audience would love to sew a zipper correctly without waves.
Negativity – Calling out the problem (and showing it clearly in the thumbnail) does a great job at grabbing the audience’s interest.
How you can use this framework: Tell your audience about a trick that can help them achieve a goal without a common pain point or problem.
Examples of this framework in action:
- A coding trick to code fast without bugs
- An interview hack to speak confidently without being nervous
No Ragrets
Title: The one regret from high school that I still think about all these years later
Framework: The one regret from (Time Period) that I still think about all these years later
Hook score: +4141
Why this works:
Negativity – The word “Regret” is so powerful and emotional and does a great job at bringing people into your video.
Curiosity – This opens a loop because you want to know what the regret is.
Relatable – This is such a strong emotional thing that everybody can relate to.
How you can use this framework: Tell your audience about your one regret they can relate to.
Examples of this framework in action:
- The one regret being a dad that I still think about all these years later
- The one Pokemon card I regret selling all these years later
Flop of the Week
Title: 10 Minute Phrasal Verb Test: Can you pass?
Hook score: -74
Why this flopped: I’ve been speaking English for 32 years and I have no idea what a phrasal verb is.
If your audience doesn’t know what something is, they’re probably not going to click.
This also might be a small potential audience issue.
The first video in this newsletter about “200 Important English Expressions” is applicable to pretty much everybody learning to speak English, but how many people are looking to take a phrasal verb test?
To avoid this mistake, use simple words in your titles and talk about topics with a large potential audience.
Alright, that wraps up this week’s Creator Hooks!
Hope you enjoyed this week’s edition and if you know a fellow creator who needs help with writing better titles, please send them to creatorhooks.com.
– Jake
(@jthomas__ on Twitter)
P.S. Read previous editions here.
P.P.S. If you want to see all of the videos from Creator Hooks in one place, check out Creator Hooks Pro.